Professional Runner Supports Hunger Relief and Local Running Stores

Posted by Stephanie Harte, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in on Jun 5, 2020 Tagged:

Although Joe Stilin has lived in North Carolina for the past six years as a professional runner with Zap Endurance, he knew he wanted to support his home state with the One WI Running Challenge. The challenge, which runs now through Labor Day, invites participants to log as many miles as they can while raising funds for local running stores and Feeding Wisconsin food banks.

“I have a lot of pride in the Wisconsin community where I came from and wanted to shout out to that,” Stilin said. “With so many people furloughed or laid off, I’ve seen a lot more people get out on the streets and pick running back up. Everyone needs a good mental health outlet and running is a great one.”

Through the One WI Running Challenge, Stilin wants to the run the entire perimeter of Wisconsin, approximately 1,379 miles, and is about 15% of the way there. Participants in the challenge are invited to set their own personal goal to reach the 250K, 500K, 1,000K, or 1,500K distance milestone, and will receive an award commemorating the highest milestone they achieve by the end of the summer.

In addition to running around 90 miles a week, Stilin enjoys exploring North Carolina’s trails and waterfalls while hiking. Miles logged hiking, walking, moving on a treadmill at home, or on a wheelchair also count towards your mileage total through the One WI Running Challenge. As you log your miles, you will be able to see where you rank among your friends and other runners, walkers, and hikers, through the challenge’s custom leader board.

“As runners, we love to race, but none of that is happening right now,” Stilin shared. “We’re kind of forced to just run and train and sort of be ready for when the races come back. Us professional runners put a ton of pressure on ourselves all the time, so it has been interesting taking that pressure off without having an imminent race. I think it’s actually helped our training a bit not having the pressure.”

As a teenager, Stilin fell in love with running while on the cross-country team for Rufus King High School in Milwaukee. He then went on to run for Princeton University as an undergraduate and at the University of Texas while he pursued a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.

Once races return, Stilin’s next big event will be the rescheduled 2021 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, where he will likely compete in the 10,000 or 5,000 meters.

As communities are still heavily reeling from the coronavirus, Stilin believes it is important to take care of our neighbors who may be disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

“Not being able to work or go to school can mean not having access to healthy food and other necessities,” Stilin said. “It’s up to us to take care of each other because we’ll all be better off overall. Think of yourself as a community, not as individuals.”

To join Stilin and register up for the One WI Running Challenge, click here.

New Statewide Fund Supports Farmers and those Facing Hunger through Partnership with Rural Mutual Insurance

Posted by Stephanie Harte, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in on May 5, 2020 Tagged:

While job losses and furloughs have made it increasingly difficult for Wisconsin families to put food on the table, the farming community has taken a hard hit with the loss of business from schools and restaurants, which accounted for nearly half their market.

That’s why Rural Mutual Insurance Company and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation teamed up to establish the Wisconsin Food and Farm Support Fund. Each entity is focusing on a different need, with Rural Mutual Insurance aiming to collect funds for Feeding Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau concentrating on fundraising for Harvest of Hope.

Feeding Wisconsin is the statewide association that supports Wisconsin’s six Feeding America member food banks. Harvest of Hope is a nonprofit that provides financial help to Wisconsin farm families in times of need for things like machinery repair, home heating fuel, and medical or veterinary expenses.

“We want to try and keep farmers and processors employed and up and running, while also getting paid for their products,” said Stephanie Jung Dorfman, executive director of Feeding Wisconsin. “At the same time, we can distribute those great Wisconsin products that we are proud of to those who really need it right now.”

This partnership also includes Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the nonprofit organization representing the state’s dairy farm families, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Dorfman explained that although we are in a dairy crisis right now, Rural Mutual Insurance understands that farmers need to find outlets for meat products as well as move produce to make room for the growing season.

Before Rural Mutual Insurance Company launched the Wisconsin Food and Farm Support Fund, its agents started taking action on their own through initiatives like fundraising to purchase milk from the farming community they serve, and then delivering the gallons to families, schools, food banks and food pantries.

“It’s been great to see the local agents already taking action in their own communities,” Dorfman said. “Rural Mutual Insurance Company wanted to do this statewide campaign to engage folks who might not have known where to start. What I appreciate about our network is our food banks have strong relationships with local farmers and processors. It’s really helpful to see a campaign like this support both farmers and our network in that two-fold way.”